Nepal's Opposition Alliance To Stake Claim To Form Government Under Former PM

The Opposition's decision came after Nepal's embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli reportedly expressed unwillingness to undergo another floor test to prove his government's majority in the House of Representatives.

Nepal's Opposition parties on Friday decided to stake a claim for the formation of a new government under former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba's leadership, in a fresh twist to the protracted political crisis bedeviling the Himalayan nation. The Opposition's decision came after Nepal's embattled Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli reportedly expressed unwillingness to undergo another floor test to prove his government's majority in the House of Representatives. Leaders of the Opposition alliance have reached the official residence of President Bidya Devi Bhandari to stake a claim to form the next government. The alliance including the Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (Maoist Center), the Upendra Yadav-faction of Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) and the ruling CPN-UML's Madhav Nepal faction has claimed to have the support of 149 lawmakers of the House of Representatives (HoR), said Nepali Congress senior leader Prakash Man Singh.